


The Other World

by FallenAutte



Series: Buttons and Bruises AU Ninjago/Coraline [1]
Category: Coraline (2009), Lego Ninjago
Genre: BBAU, Buttons and Bruises AU, Child Neglect, Cole is a scene kid at heart, Coraline AU, Coraline!Cole, Forced dieting, Gen, Starvation, The Other World, crossover AU, lou is a bastard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 03:28:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20771789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAutte/pseuds/FallenAutte
Summary: Cole finally finds out what is behind the little door in his living room late one night.





	The Other World

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written for my Ninjago/Coraline AU: Buttons and Bruises. Feel free to find out more about it on my tumblr: fallenautte
> 
> I hope you find this AU enjoyable ;)

A twilight of hues stretches forward, and the jumping mouse zooms down the extending tunnel of purple, blue and aquamarine towards another door on the opposite end of the crawlspace. At one point, the mouse stops and looks back at Cole, as if waiting for him to follow, but the little creature doesn’t remain still for long before continuing on its journey and eventually squeezing past the other door.

Cole’s hesitation lasts only another moment - he takes a glance back towards the room behind him to ensure the fact that his father is still asleep and not standing behind him. With a quiet sigh towards the empty living room, the boy finally relaxes and sheds the blanket draped around his shoulders. He squeezes into the crawlspace and follows the curiosity tugging at his heart until he reaches the other door at the end of the mysterious tunnel, and pushes it open.

Immediately, the scent of roasted chicken and fresh bread meets his senses, and he cringes at the groan it pulls from his neglected stomach. He stands slowly and takes a few gentle steps into the room, perfectly replicated to his own living room with only minor changes. The painting over the mantle is brighter and happier, the walls are cleaner and lighter, the furnisher seems more  _ lived in _ . The atmosphere of this room compared to his actual living room is far warmer and copier.

Another grumble and twist of his empty gut entices him to follow the scent of food towards the kitchen in this "other" house. The wooden floors are warm underfoot and the air is comfortable as he steps into the warm light of the kitchen. Cole stops and nearly backs out at the sight of his father at the kitchen counter.

Lou doesn't seem to notice his presence yet and continues washing the cooking trays in the sink, humming a gentle and unfamiliar tune. A large meal is set at the table, and the sight of the perfectly cooked and abundant food makes Cole's mouth water, but it also makes him weary. His dad would  _ never  _ cook so much food, let alone such fatty foods like chicken and potatoes.

Cole takes a slow step forward, but the floorboards beneath him decides to creak at that very moment, alerting Lou who tilts his head curiously but doesn't turn away from washing the dishes. "Cole?"

Cole's voice catches in his throat for a moment, but chokes up a response quickly. "Y-yes, dad? What are you doing down here so l-late…" He cuts himself off as Lou turns off the water and dries his hands, turning towards Cole with a warm expression on his face.

Although, Cole is quickly taken aback at the placement of _buttons _where dark eyes should be in his father's face. He quickly grows more confident and almost _angry_ at whatever this is, and sizes himself up with an inward breath. "_You're _not my father," he fumes, but as he takes a step forward, he deflates and grows more scared or confused than anything. "My father doesn't have b-"

"Buttons?" The thing impersonating Lou laughs, cutting Cole off before he could finish. "Of course not, I'm your  _ other  _ father." While saying this, the 'other' Lou slips on an oven mitt and opens the oven, sliding out a rack that holds what appears to be a pan of fresh bread. "Now, dinner is almost ready, and I hope you're hungry." Cole's stomach growls again at the mention of his hunger. "Why don't you go get your Other Mother…"

The words drown out after that and Cole can only stand stupidly in the doorway. Mother? His mom is  _ alive _ ?

He's only brought back to the present by his Other Father's prompting a moment later. By the time he is snapped out of the stupor completely, he's suddenly feeling very calm about this confusing situation, and maybe even a bit hopeful. "She should be in the studio."

Right, the dance studio. He nods numbly and steps back out of the kitchen and turns towards the hall. He runs sweaty hands over the wallpaper as he makes his dazed way down to the dance studio until he can hear a graceful, familiar voice humming to herself behind the closed door.

He stands there a few moments, his head pressed against the door and hand only hovering over the door knob to listen to the voice - his mother's voice, just as he remembers it. Slowly, he opens the door and pushes it open to greet his Other Mother.

He first sees her seated across the room, her back to him, in front of an unfinished painting. There are dozens of paintings and sketches just like it around the room, many hanging on the walls and others stacked neatly in the corners of the room. Paint-covered tarp covers the wooden floor and protects the floorboards from damage and stains. Cole's eyes sting with tears and he nearly chokes up.

"Hi, mom," he stammers, his voice weak and faint, but it does plenty enough to grab her attention.

She turns towards him with a gentle smile, the same warm smile he's known all his life until his real mom passed away a few years prior. Although, the smile isn't the same without her warm, golden eyes to accentuate the genuinity of her smile…he tries to ignore how the buttons make his mother look 'not right.'

"Hello, love," she says, setting down her painting materials and slipping off the white smock she wore to hang it up on the back of the wooden easel. "It's so good to see-" She cuts herself off with a laugh when Cole approaches and tightly hugs her. He's taller than he was when he last saw his real mother, and now towers over her, but together they make the embrace work.

They don't say anything, and instead stay like this for a while with the Other Mother running her soft hands through his hair and humming a gentle tune while he cries quietly into her shirt.

Cole nearly forgets why he's here in the first place, but it takes a moment for him to gather the words. "The, ah…" He coughs quietly to clear his throat. "Dinner's ready, been so for a while now, probably."

He feels dumb for forgetting, but when the Other Mother only presses a sweet kiss to the top of his head, he knows that he won't get in trouble for delaying dinner like he might have with his real father.

"Then let's go eat."

**~♡~**

For once, Cole’s stomach doesn’t ache and crave for more as it does under the strict diet his father keeps him under, and he can feel his eyes growing heavy in content. His Other parents seem to notice this.

“You seem awfully tired, Cole,” Other Lou points out, already beginning to gather up the dishes from dinner and pack away the leftovers into the fridge. “We were hoping to play a game after dinner but there’s no point of it if you’re going to be falling asleep through it. Why don’t we put you to bed and call it a night?”

Cole can hardly argue, he shrugs and hums his agreement, and manages to push himself to his feet. He is just about to bring his own dishes to the sink before Other Lou grabs them from in front of him and gently flicks his nose. “I will take care of these, off to bed with you.” Without another word, the Other Father piles the dishes into the sink to be taken care of later it seems.

The Other Mother is already leading Cole up to his room and soon the Other Father isn’t far behind. It doesn’t take the three long to go up the stairs and find the door to Cole’s other room. Of course, he’s the first to open the door, but he nearly stops in the doorway and gasps like an excited kid once his eyes sweep quickly across the small room.

The layout of this room is identical to his real room, but that’s just about where the similarities end. His real room is dull, with hardly anything decorating it - his father never approved of his choice musical artists and would never allow him to hang merch of his favorite bands around his room, and Lou absolutely refused to allow Cole to decorate his room with bright  _ or  _ dark colors. Everything had to be dull and “mature” in Lou’s eyes.

This room, however, is a beautiful trainwreck in every aspect that Cole  _ adores _ . The bed covers are black and bright orange, and the walls and shelves are covered in merchandise and artwork of his favorite bands. The walls themselves are a light orange color, a stark difference to the plain beige in his real room.

"I hope you like it," says Other Lou. "We spent so long trying to find everything-"

"I  _ love _ it." Cole can barely contain his true excitement while he moves around the room to get a better look at the posters and albums and other official collectables that litter the walls and shelves.

However, despite his excitement, fatigue still weighs on him. A yawn pulls from his chest while he stands in front of an AC/DC world tour poster.

“You really should go to sleep, love.” The Other Mother approaches him and gently pulls him to the bed. “None of this is going to disappear by the time you get back.”

Cole allows himself to be led to the bed and settles himself down once he reaches it. The dark and neon covers are soft and warm and the mattress underneath them is comfortable - exactly how he likes it. Any will to remain awake instantly melts away once he crawls under the blankets. The Other Mother insists to tuck him in, which causes the young teen only mild embarrassment until he feels the relaxing brush of her lips on his forehead. He would much rather focus on the familiar and comforting feeling of his mother beside his bed than the fact that he’s too old to be tucked in and coddled.

The floorboards creak gently when Other Lou moves crosses the room to join the Other Mother by Cole’s bedside, but he doesn’t interrupt them.

The feeling of gentle fingers running through his hair draws a content sigh from Cole, and his consciousness finally begins to slip away. His mother’s voice is the last thing he hears: a gentle humming tune and a whispered “Sleep well, little bear.”


End file.
